- Art
"I paint on two occasions: when I am in love and when I am not.” With this vision it is clear that painting is Maria Kreyn’s greatest passion. The artist brings together romance, baroque, realism and human emotions in her masterly paintings, which exude a certain sensitivity and serenity and express the complexity of feelings.
Russian artist Maria Kreyn lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She studied at the SORA (School of Representational Art) where she specialised mainly in drawing, and at the University of Chicago where the focus was on mathematics and philosophy. She mixes baroque and romantic art historical conventions, creating her own sensitive, realistic paintings. Allegories, mysterious scenes and masterfully rendered figures appear in her works that are enveloped in a serene atmosphere. For her compositions she draws inspiration from the technical ground rules of old masterpieces of which she adapts the techniques and expands the visual vocabulary. In this way, she creates a world of emotional dialogues, unique personal stories, surreal fictions and sensitive images. Kreyn narrates – from a dominant female perspective – about human intimacy.
Her works have already been exhibited in various galleries in the United States and Europe and have even travelled to museums all the way to China. Now Imagicasa brings Kreyn's beautiful paintings to her readers.
We spoke with Maria about her art in an exclusive interview.
Tell me a bit about how you became an artist.
"I was always drawing as a child and it was my dream to become a painter. Oddly, I only started painting when I was 21 years old. But once I started, there was no turning back."
What does art mean to you?
"I think creativity is a destination and goal in itself. If there is a meaning to life, I would guess it would be to catalyze creativity. So I very intentionally have tried to turn my life into a multimedia, a multimodal art playground. It’s the main way I come to know life, and myself."
What inspires you for your paintings?
"I see human emotions as the most complex phenomenon in the world, the one with which we reckon with more than anything. That complexity inspires me."
How would you describe your style?
"My work focuses on the human form, on emotion and sensuality. The paintings are inspired by Baroque and Romantic periods of art history, but are not strictly traditional. They remix and reframe historical tropes into new personal stories and surreal fictions."
What do you want to express with your works?
"The stirring complexity of human emotion and the movement of the thoughts in the mind. Through a female – and often even androgynous – lens, I try to examine our sense of intimacy, time, and memory."
Which materials, techniques and paint do you use?
"I mainly paint with oil on canvas, though I love using unusual materials like plexiglass, mylar (a kind of plastic film) and duralar (a kind of mat plastic) to draw and paint on as well."
Do you want to learn more about this artist and her breath-taking works?Read the whole article and interview in our previous art edition: Imagicasa ART 2018 (December), still available in our webshop.
Her works have already been exhibited in various galleries in the United States and Europe and have even travelled to museums all the way to China. Now Imagicasa brings Kreyn's beautiful paintings to her readers.
We spoke with Maria about her art in an exclusive interview.Tell me a bit about how you became an artist.
"I was always drawing as a child and it was my dream to become a painter. Oddly, I only started painting when I was 21 years old. But once I started, there was no turning back."
What does art mean to you?
"I think creativity is a destination and goal in itself. If there is a meaning to life, I would guess it would be to catalyze creativity. So I very intentionally have tried to turn my life into a multimedia, a multimodal art playground. It’s the main way I come to know life, and myself."
What inspires you for your paintings?"I see human emotions as the most complex phenomenon in the world, the one with which we reckon with more than anything. That complexity inspires me."
How would you describe your style?
"My work focuses on the human form, on emotion and sensuality. The paintings are inspired by Baroque and Romantic periods of art history, but are not strictly traditional. They remix and reframe historical tropes into new personal stories and surreal fictions."
What do you want to express with your works?"The stirring complexity of human emotion and the movement of the thoughts in the mind. Through a female – and often even androgynous – lens, I try to examine our sense of intimacy, time, and memory."
Which materials, techniques and paint do you use?
"I mainly paint with oil on canvas, though I love using unusual materials like plexiglass, mylar (a kind of plastic film) and duralar (a kind of mat plastic) to draw and paint on as well."
Do you want to learn more about this artist and her breath-taking works?Read the whole article and interview in our previous art edition: Imagicasa ART 2018 (December), still available in our webshop.
All images Courtesy of The Artist Maria Kreyn